Sunday, May 13, 2007

End of the year juggling act...

Egyptian jugglers
Every year at this time it's the same story. Many balls in the air and they're going faster and faster. My arms are getting tired and my head is spinning. Added to the regular routines of house and schooling and children's ministry, is the demands of the yard and planning for NEXT year's schooling. Everything in and of itself is interesting and good, but when combined it makes for a situation pushing overload. No wonder I haven't had much time to read for JUST pleasure!

I did discover a new author. Frederick Beuchner (pronounced Beekner). "The Wizard's Tide" was a delightful story of a few years in the life of a young boy living in Winnipeg. It's the story of a family and their struggles through the depression. Beuchner says that it's "mostly a true story". I wonder if it's HIS story. In any case, the depth of emotion and clarity of recall is amazing. I just wanted to scoop up the main character, Teddy, and give him a big hug. The library has several of Buechner's books and I have reserved them. He has been compared to C.S. Lewis (although on the cover of one of his books of sermons he looks more like Anthony Hopkins to me!). The forward to "Secrets in the Dark" is by Brian McLaren, so that tells you something. I look forward to gleaning some life wisdom from this man.

Another author that was recommended (from a CBC radio program) is Carol Shields. On the program her husband was talking about the book "Larry's Party". So I promptly ordered it from the library. Well!! This book was SO intriguing. I moved from chapter to chapter really wanting to know what was going to happen next to Larry. However... I finally couldn't get past the bad language and the crudeness. I made it to almost half way. Nope, sorry, can't do it. I skipped to the last section and kind of got the drift of what had happened to Larry in the intervening years. It was really a sad story in a way. The story of a man who just missed the mark it seems to me. So much potential, but pushed about by the tides with no intentional directing of his life. Shields has written a number of other books, as well. I'll give one more a try before abandoning her.

A quick read for me these last few weeks was The Vikings by Elizabeth Janeway. I bought it at the homeschool convention with thoughts of it being for the kids. I have a fascination with Vikings so I read it myself before passing it over to them. It's a Landmark Book which is supposed to be a mark of excellence. And this WAS a good book. It's the story of Eric the Red and his son Leif. Well researched and substantiated. I learned a lot about the Vikings from this book. My 12 year old son, however, got about half way through and abandoned it for Bone Dry by Kathleen Karr. Oh well, maybe he'll pick it up again another time.

Can you see me as a Viking maiden???